Publications

March 2014 (Revised April 2014)
Supplement

China Vanke (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, John Macomber and Keith Chi-ho Wong

The case describes Vanke's response to the decisions posed in the A1, A2, and A3 cases and asks whether Vanke should expand its strategic scope by defining itself as an "urban facilities provider" rather than a "residential housing developer." The management team is... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; China; Green Building; Sustainable Development; Asset Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Urban Development; Safety; Assets; Real Estate Industry; China

Article

Four Things No One Will Tell You About ESG Data

By: Sakis Kotsantonis and George Serafeim

As the ESG finance field and the use of ESG data in investment decision-making continue to grow, the authors seek to shed light on several important aspects of ESG measurement and data. This article is intended to provide a useful guide for the rapidly rising number of... View Details

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October 2022
Article

Climate Change Acknowledgment to Promote Sustainable Development: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Local Action Plans in Coastal Florida

By: Srimayi Tenali and Phil McManus

Globally, the consequences of climate change have rapidly necessitated local govern-ment action to mitigate and adapt to rising sea levels, increased storm frequency, andhigher temperatures. Acknowledgement of underlying climate issues, however, varieswidely across... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Local Range; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Communication

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14 Dec 2022
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - Reducing Plastic Pollution on a Global Scale

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series – Reducing Plastic Pollution on a Global Scale Cover image features Anand Burman (left) and María Emilia Correa (right). A recent article in the Boston Globe describes the disheartening... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Tapping into a sustainable enterprise that provides income for indigenous Mexican families

Fredo Arias-King (MBA 1996, AM 1998) helps indigenous forest dwellers and their families in central Mexico stay on their land and thrive financially while also safeguarding their local environment. As founder of Green and Tapped Indigenous Community, Arias-King created... View Details

Web

IFC India 2025: Decarbonizing Rice Paddy Farming - Pioneering Sustainability in Indian Agriculture - Blog - Business & Environment

Blog Blog Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author HBS Faculty Author HBS Staff Author Staff Author Students Topics Topics Accelerating Climate Solutions Conference 2023 Alumni Alumni Programs Alumni in Climate Networking Series Business... View Details

November 2016
Article

Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality

By: Mozaffar Khan, George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon

Using newly available materiality classifications of sustainability topics, we develop a novel dataset by hand-mapping sustainability investments classified as material for each industry into firm-specific sustainability ratings. This allows us to present new evidence... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Investments; Corporate Social Responsibility; Accounting; Corporate Reporting; Regulation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Investment; Corporate Governance

March 2014 (Revised May 2014)
Case

China Vanke (A-1)

By: Lynn S. Paine, John Macomber and Keith Chi-ho Wong

As China's largest homebuilder, China Vanke Co. Ltd. (Vanke) was facing an industry downturn sparked by strong government intervention. Faced with falling prices, Vanke's president must decide whether to keep the company's pricing and product positioning intact, and... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; China; Green Building; Sustainable Development; Business Government Relations; Leadership; Business and Government Relations; Urban Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Safety; Real Estate Industry; China

March 2015
Case

Unilever: Combatting Global Food Waste

By: David F. Drake, Janice H. Hammond and Matthew G. Preble

The global consumer goods company Unilever was on pace to hit a number of aggressive targets by 2020 as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Project, including a goal to halve the waste associated with the disposal of its products. Unilever's chief supply chain... View Details

February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Amram Migdal

This case examines Blue Haven Initiative (BHI), an impact investing fund and family office, and one of its investments, PEGAfrica (PEG). BHI founder Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ motivations for using her family wealth to start a family office focused on impact investing,... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Family Office; Development; International Development; International Development Investing; Development Fund; Sustainability; Solar Energy; Solar; Pay As You Go; PAYG; MFI; Social Venture; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Economics; Development Economics; Energy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Assets; Asset Pricing; Capital; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Venture Capital; Cash; Cash Flow; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Stock Shares; Financing and Loans; Microfinance; International Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Price; Geography; Geographic Location; Emerging Markets; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Private Ownership; Social Enterprise; Value; Valuation; Value Creation; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Green Technology Industry; Africa; United States

10 Apr 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: SELCO - Decentralized Renewable Energy to Develop While Decarbonizing

of sustainability efforts, decarbonization, and net zero in the context of a broader development agenda. The class culminated in a series of site visits in January 2025 in Mumbai and Bangalore and this is... View Details

14 May 2024
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series – How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship Today, the concept of “sustainable innovation” seems commonplace and is generally accepted as a viable path balancing business growth with... View Details

10 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - Innovations to Address the Global Water Crisis

access to basic sanitation.” This stark reality demonstrates an urgent need for action in order to make meaningful progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 of reaching universal access to... View Details

29 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Exploring Sustainable Energy: A Visit to Vestas Wind Turbine Manufacturing in Odense, Denmark

In January 2024, Professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel led 45 HBS MBA students on site visits to witness the energy transition and innovative sustainable production activities throughout Denmark and the Netherlands, in the second year of... View Details

December 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

BASF: Co-Creating Innovation (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In 2016, BASF's chief executive officer and chief technology officer reflected on the co-creation innovation program started almost 18 months ago as part of BASF's 150th anniversary celebration. Five hundred project ideas had been created, of which 100 had already... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Knowledge Sharing; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Chemicals; Environmental Sustainability; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

January 2023
Case

Crow Holdings Development: Mass Timber Construction

By: John D. Macomber, Robert Hernandez and Kyle MertensMeyer

Jim McCaffery and Cody Armbrister of Crow Holdings Development evaluate the pros and cons of committing to mass timber construction instead of conventional concrete or steel for a new 260,000 SF multi-story office building in Texas. Benefits include substantially... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate Development; Architecture; Air Quality; Health ＆ Wellness; Office Property; Sustainability; Carbon Abatement; Natural Environment; Environmental Accounting; Green Buildings; Design; Construction; Cost vs Benefits; Environmental Sustainability; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; Texas

2012
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Richard Fahey and Robert Saudek (A): Lighting Liberia

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Anne Arlinghaus

After successful careers as lawyers Richard Fahey and Robert Saudek set out to tackle a large-scale infrastructure challenge in a complex environment by increasing Liberian citizens’ access to lighting solutions. They developed the Liberian Energy Network, which aimed... View Details